Experienced DISers...first 3 Hours in the park routine

[sweethannah]

On a non early entry, if we are there at rope drope we usually head over to Indy first and get on. Then when we get off we grab some fast passes for Indy. If the wait is still almost walk on, we get on again. If there is like a 15-20 minute wait, we will head over to POTC and get on there. Then we head over to Haunted Mansion. After HM, we hit up Thunder Mountain. By that time the FP for Indy is about time to use again. We will get on Indy again. Then usually we will get on the Jungle Cruise while we are right there. Then after that it is usually time for a break and something to eat.

I like the idea of really concentrating on 'Land in the AM We love Bengal BBQ and this would be a convenient pit-stop.

 

[sweethannah]

1st 3 hours at DL:

• be at gates preferably 30 min before rope drop
• get a FP for Star Tours
• go to Fantasyland and ride Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, Snow White, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, King Triton's Carousel
• Sometimes we also go on the Storybook Land Canal Boats
• if we get up extra early that day, we might try Peter Pan first thing. Otherwise, we have skipped it because the line is SO long within even 10 minutes of park opening
• At start of the Star Tours FP time slot, 1 of us runs to Indiana Jones and gets FP for that
• Then we go on Star Tours, Autopia, Buzz Lightyear, and grab a Buzz FP to use for later because Buzz FP is disconnected from other FP
• If Indiana Jones FP time slot hasn't started yet, we go on Jungle Cruise and/or the Tiki Room. And we eat a dole whip while we watch the show!
• At start of Indiana Jones FP, get a FP for Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The other adults entertains the kids in the Adventureland Bazaar shops and hopefully gets a prescription for each kid from the Shrunken Ned booth!
• Go on Indiana Jones. If it's not lunch time yet and if we aren't tired, then we go on Haunted Mansion or Pirates or the Caribbean. And when that ride is done, if the wait for the other ride isn't too bad, then we go on whichever other one we didn't go on (HM or Pirates).
• Based on FP return times, the return time for Splash Mtn or BTMRR is probably right around lunch time at this point, so if we are hungry, we'll eat at the Hungry Bear and then go on Splash Mtn or BTMRR. Otherwise, we'll go on the ride and then eat. DH usually sits out on Splash Mtn or BTMRR since he hates rides with big drops.

I'll cover 1st 3 hours at DCA separately!

1st 3 hours at DCA:

• Again, get to gates about 30 minutes before the gates open.
• Head straight for Toy Story and go on that once, maybe twice..

Our family doesn't really care for most of the rides on Paradise Pier...Golden Zephyr, Silly Symphony Swings, California Screamin', Goofy's Sky School. Those all pretty much get a thumbs down for us, so we skip over most of that "land." All of us hate the Tower of Terror, so we skip that, too.

We love all those rides! Maybe somebody who likes those rides will share their schedule too.

Your DL suggestions are excellent .

 

[agamble]

\

Good to know. I need both of mine to be chosen so it might take more than one showing.

Maybe they'll switch to the system of preregistering. Then you'll be able to sign both kids up for the same show.

My favorite way to start the day is with a visit to Fantasyland. If we can get on Peter Pan within the first 10 minutes, we'll go there first. Otherwise we skip it and go straight to Alice. Then we head to Dumbo and ride all of the main area Fantasyland rides generally alternating between an inside ride and an outside ride. So long as you don't waste time on Peter Pan, you can do the majority of the Fantasyland rides in the first hour. If this was an early entry day the park would be opening. This allows you to finish up Fantasyland with canal boats, Matterhorn, and Small World. We like to go to Toon Town around the time it opens (1 hour after regular park opening). There is a short ceremony where Mickey walks kids into the town. There's a fun little coaster back there that little kids enjoy. We'll typically ride this several times in a row and then maybe catch a ride on Roger Rabbit. We always make sure we stop for pictures with characters around Toon Town. If it was an early entry day, the 3 hours would be about up. If it wasn't an early entry day we would have gone to Toon Town when it opened during the second hour and would still need to ride Small World, Matterhorn, and the Canal boats. Either way you can do all of Fantasyland and Toon Town in about 3 hours.

Another option, for non early entry day, would be to head to Adventureland first. Grab a FP for Indy and jump on one of the first boats through the Jungle. You can pretty much choose what rides to do on this side of the park during the first couple of hours as most guests are in other areas of the park. You can easily ride every ride on this side of the park within the first three hours: Jungle Cruise, Indy, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Pooh, Splash Mountain, River Cruise (it'll be closed though), Big Thunder. It's a really good place to head if you want to avoid the crowds in the morning.

 

[texasgingerbread]

Maybe they'll switch to the system of preregistering. Then you'll be able to sign both kids up for the same show.

My favorite way to start the day is with a visit to Fantasyland. If we can get on Peter Pan within the first 10 minutes, we'll go there first. Otherwise we skip it and go straight to Alice. Then we head to Dumbo and ride all of the main area Fantasyland rides generally alternating between an inside ride and an outside ride. So long as you don't waste time on Peter Pan, you can do the majority of the Fantasyland rides in the first hour. If this was an early entry day the park would be opening. This allows you to finish up Fantasyland with canal boats, Matterhorn, and Small World. We like to go to Toon Town around the time it opens (1 hour after regular park opening). There is a short ceremony where Mickey walks kids into the town. There's a fun little coaster back there that little kids enjoy. We'll typically ride this several times in a row and then maybe catch a ride on Roger Rabbit. We always make sure we stop for pictures with characters around Toon Town. If it was an early entry day, the 3 hours would be about up. If it wasn't an early entry day we would have gone to Toon Town when it opened during the second hour and would still need to ride Small World, Matterhorn, and the Canal boats. Either way you can do all of Fantasyland and Toon Town in about 3 hours.

Another option, for non early entry day, would be to head to Adventureland first. Grab a FP for Indy and jump on one of the first boats through the Jungle. You can pretty much choose what rides to do on this side of the park during the first couple of hours as most guests are in other areas of the park. You can easily ride every ride on this side of the park within the first three hours: Jungle Cruise, Indy, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Pooh, Splash Mountain, River Cruise (it'll be closed though), Big Thunder. It's a really good place to head if you want to avoid the crowds in the morning.

That would be so awesome if we could pre-register. Both my boys will be dressed in their Stormtropper and Darth Vader costumes for the JTA (we'll keep it in the lockers for the day) so I'm hoping for both. I'm going to situate them on opposite side of me and DH.

If I have 2 days at DL I could do FL one morning and then AL the next morning. Saving everything else for afternoon, but I still have TL too which are great rides too. Choices, choices.

 

[agamble]

If I have 2 days at DL I could do FL one morning and then AL the next morning. Saving everything else for afternoon, but I still have TL too which are great rides too. Choices, choices.

Almost everything in TL has FP though. So you can ride those rides later in the day using FP.

 

[califlorican]

We don't have a routine, but our experience today:

got in at 9:30
checked on Star Tours but it was closed
Went to IJ standby was 15 mins and grabbed a FP for it as well for 10:20-11:20 just in case (didn't end up using)
Went to BTMRR and rode standby
Went to IASW, less than 10 min wait
Grabbed a churro
Did star tours standby and grabbed FP for 12:35-1:35 (about to go now)
Did hyperspace mountain standby 40 mins
Got corn dogs

We're happy with our day! And we still have a lot to go!

 

[Kiwiprincess]

We don't have a routine, but our experience today:

got in at 9:30
checked on Star Tours but it was closed
Went to IJ standby was 15 mins and grabbed a FP for it as well for 10:20-11:20 just in case (didn't end up using)
Went to BTMRR and rode standby
Went to IASW, less than 10 min wait
Grabbed a churro
Did star tours standby and grabbed FP for 12:35-1:35 (about to go now)
Did hyperspace mountain standby 40 mins
Got corn dogs

We're happy with our day! And we still have a lot to go!

Have fun!

 

[texasgingerbread]

Out of curiosity, now that Season of the Force is in play would any of you change your strategy? I think califorican posted with SOTF stuff. Anyone else? I'm finally putting together my touring plan and will be typing up a pre-trip report for feedback.

 

[StayClassy]

On a non early entry, if we are there at rope drope we usually head over to Indy first and get on. Then when we get off we grab some fast passes for Indy. If the wait is still almost walk on, we get on again. If there is like a 15-20 minute wait, we will head over to POTC and get on there. Then we head over to Haunted Mansion. After HM, we hit up Thunder Mountain. By that time the FP for Indy is about time to use again. We will get on Indy again. Then usually we will get on the Jungle Cruise while we are right there. Then after that it is usually time for a break and something to eat.

Love your plan so much I'm actually going to use it my first day in the parks in January... It's perfect for me.

 

[azarine]

Following!

 

[chrisaman]

Generally we try to focus on the rides without fast passes. We then use fast passes later in the day when long stand by lines keep us off rides. So things like pirates, small world, Peter Pan, Matterhorn, ....... Or at California adventure it is toy story first thing. The only time we break this is if there is a ride we want to ride a bunch of times. Then we will ride stand by and grab fast passes on the way out

 

[MouseEXP]

Dca opening at 8am
- Arrive at entrance 30-15 minutes before park opens. Grab some Starbucks on Buena Vista St before opening.
8am-930am
- Toy Story
- Screamin
- Fun Wheel
- Goofy Sky School
- Symphony Swings
- Grab FP to Soarin
930am-1130am
- Grizzle River
- RSR Single Rider
- Tower of Terror
- Use FP for Soarin
- Lunch at White water snacks or Smokers Grill

DL
- Arrive at entrance 30-15 minutes before park opens. Grab some Starbucks on Main St
8am-9am
- Alice in Wonderland
- Matterhorn Single Rider
- Casey Jr.
- Pinocchio
- Snow White
9am-1130am
- Grab FP for Indy
- Splash Mountain
- Haunted Mansion
- Big Thunder
- Grab FP for Space Mountain
- Use FP for Indy
- Lunch anywhere